September 24, 2013 - 09/24/13

Stocks finished mostly lower on Tuesday. The Dow was down 66 points to 15334. The S&P 500 Index fell for the fourth straight session as it lost over 4 points to 1697. The NASDAQ eked out a gain of nearly 3 points to 3768. A batch of mixed economic data caused some investor hesitation. Home prices increased over the last 12 months by the most since February 2006. On the downside, factory activity in the central Atlantic region declined more than expected in September and consumer confidence dropped to a four-month low. The budget battle in Washington added to the cautious tone as the deadline inches closer without a resolution to fund the government past October 1. Fed speak also garnered attention after Regional President Dudley said the central bank may taper its bond-buying program later this year if economic data improves. Overall, most sectors declined. Telecommunications and Financials were the worst performing groups as Verizon lost 1.5% to $47.24 and JPMorgan fell 2.2% to $50.35. Industrials and Energy advanced to help limit losses. Boeing rose 1.2% to $118.94 and Schlumberger gained 0.8% to $87.77. NYSE Composite volume totaled over 3.2 billion shares. On the NYSE, advancers beat decliners by 6-5 on issues and volume was even. The NASDAQ was 6-5 positive on issues and 9-7 positive on volume. In fixed-income, Treasuries gained ground and the government sold $33 billion of two-year notes. The 10-year note was up 13/32 to yield 2.65% and the 30-year bond gained over a full point to yield 3.67%.

WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- (Marketwired) -- 03/21/14 -- Companies that pride themselves on being eco-friendly may have conflicted ideas between marketing with ad specialties and maintaining their green reputation. ...